


Dream day

by Otayuranidiot



Category: Destiny (Video Game)
Genre: Adopted, Angst, Cancer, Depression, Destiny 2, Dildos, Exo hunter - Freeform, F/F, Fanfiction, Fighting, Gay, Heavy Angst, Human Hunter - Freeform, M/M, Mentions of Cancer, Multi, Mute - Freeform, OC, Oops, Poncho gremlins, Sass, Selectively mute, Self Loathing, Smut, Suicide, Violence, lots of dildos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-01-04 19:41:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12175365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otayuranidiot/pseuds/Otayuranidiot
Summary: When the stars align, you meet someone important. If the traveler glimmered down at you in a moment, you'd meet your lover and be happy.That's what Sang Ki-ha's mother had always told him.Though now, staring down the bright red Exo before him, Sang felt like the whole damn universe was lining up, with him in the center.





	1. Taken city

There was no way out of this one. Normal protocol for finding a newly reawoken guardian was to report it to command and then bring in the newbie if needed. It happened rarely though, and if you did get found, you were one lucky fool.

Now, Sang stared down the bright red exo splayed in the mud. The Exo wasn't beaten up too badly, luckily, or else Sang would've gotten another lecture from Zavalla about not being careful enough. It was also his fault the bewildered new guardian was now sitting in the gunk of an abandoned golden age factory. In a moment of pure fight or flight, Sang had jumped when the Exo first emerged from the doors, thinking the glare in his eye was some vex mirror or some sort. He was ready to protect Earth to the very end though. He justified his attacking the Exo without properly surveying by reminding himself that the day he vex reach earth is the day they lost.

Another few minutes were spent awkwardly glaring at each other before Sang finally thrust out his hand to help the other. The Exo, though now rather reluctantly, accepted the hand.   
"What was that about, huh sweetie?"  
The Exo had a peculiar voice. A mix between old Russian and American, but strangely grounded. If rust had a sound, this would be it. The air hung heavy with the silence between them. Sang was mute, selectively so, and this was just another instance where he left others awkwardly lost in the conversation. Sang pulled his hand away now that the exo was standing again, and started signing.

'Follow me, I'll take you to the tower.'  
The Exo seemed to understand, somewhat. That look of bewilderment seemed to lessen even just a bit.. Once he had his language drives updated to City dialect, he'd have no problem communicating. Sang would likely never see him again after he dropped him off in the tower.  
It felt strange, even thinking about going back. He was around so rarely, he'd stop in to see Cayde, Ikora, make a report to Zavalla. Sometimes go down to the city to blend for a while. But it became harder and harder in the past decade to finally find a moment to hop in.   
Sang turned around, bringing the visor of his nighthawk back over his face and leading the way through the tangled web of trees and broken buildings.  
Often when he was patrolling in the EDZ, or just on Earth in general, he wondered what it had looked like in its previous glory. He must've known once, millenia ago in a life no longer his.

There was the solstice festival going on at the tower on this day. Sang usually never came for such events. He hated going to the streets as a guardian and being recognised by local bar owners.   
Perhaps he'd stop by, if he was bringing a new guardian in. Catch up with his vanguard. Despite being part of the Vanguard (in a technical sense,) he really had no place at the tower. He was the running man of sorts.  
Sang preferred it that way.

The walk back to the landing zone that usually took Sang five minutes by rooftop hopping ended up taking thirty minutes through the rubble of the ground, partly because the Exo kept stumbling about. Sang couldn't remember his awakening too well anymore, but he was sure he wasn't that mismatched. Perhaps he had been, but it had been an age ago, and he no longer cared.  
What was more pressing on Sang's mind was the lack of enemies about, like they had ran and taken cover from something. It couldn't be Sang because usually fallen were happy to jump out and pick a fight. Something was deeply wrong.

Sang had trained himself to push the pain of summoning his ship to the back of his mind. It didn't hurt any less no matter how hard he tried. He didn't need to gesture or commune for the Exo to jump in first, taking the spare back seat. Sang hopped in pilot and they were off.

There was minimal chatter as his ghost got a report from the Exo. Khan-6, an exo model that never hit the front before the darkness came. Not as if it would have changed what would have happened. The collapse was inevitable. Having a being as great as the Traveller meant there would always be a fight.  
The flight back felt like it took hours longer than it should have, though Sang knew it had only been another half hour. He started counting every second, in an attempt to calm himself. An old habit, that never worked, and yet brought the relief of familiarity.  
"So, what do they call you?" The Exo hummed, as if feeling Sang's tension and trying to break the silence. Ghost answered for Sang, knowing it was better to leave the guardian alone as he tried getting on the vanguard comms.

"Sang Ki-Ha, Vanguard guardian known for having one of the best fly times on pilot tests, only second to Amanda Holliday."  
It sounded almost like the Exo had scoffed. Some big shot stick ass had picked him up.

"And is he always this quiet?" Khan became interested in Ghost again, his own ghost hanging around idly. There was no response from Ghost apart from an indescribable sound, a mix between humor and sadness. With the conversation as dead as the mood, Ghost turned back to Sang to help get on the comms.

"Repeat, tower approach this is Vanguard ship City-Hawk seven two three. Anyone home..?"  
Apprehension laced Ghost's voice, mimicking Sang's thoughts as they zipped along. Sang spared a glance at Ghost, who returned the stare. "No response on any channels, even the emergency frequencies."  
Ghost sighed incredulously, and the moment of staring broke as Sang returned to flying.  
"You remember when I said you fly too fast?"  
Sang groaned a bit, but nodded.  
"Forget that. Fly fast."

In under a blink of an eye, Sang pushed his ship into the next drive, and he heard a distinct thump behind him as both the Exo and his ghost were thrown against the back of their seat with the sudden acceleration.

Whatever was attacking the city was in for one hell of a time, sang swore it.

 


	2. Escape

**_"Noona will always be there for her little idiot brother. If they strangle you again, you tell them that your big mean Noona will come. If they make you breathe their smoke, you tell them your Noona will do it back to them. Your sister will always be here for you, Sang."_ **

_The bird flew through the stars, leading him to the shard. His sister's spirit._

**_"If there's reincarnation, like, another animal? I want to be a hawk. Or a falcon. I can leave this city, maybe this planet. And do what I want. Truly be free. Sang, what would you be? Sang? Sang!"_ **

_He reached out to her voice, grasped at the stars and found nothing but silver moon dust._

 

* * *

 

_It had all happened so fast._

Fire. Gunshots in the distance. Ears ringing.

_No one had been ready._

It was still raining. Was that his blood tricking down the concrete to the puddles below?

_That had been Ghaul.. Dominus Ghaul._

Another explosion. He knew he needed to get up before some legionary found him.

Everything was wrong. This couldn't be happening. He probably fell asleep inside one of the cult's simulation rooms again. But this pain... It was very, very real. Much more than what the simulation's attempts were. This was the pain of falling three hundred feet without your ghost there to heal you. The pain of knowing home was gone, and you could've done something to help.

Sang absolutely could have just laid there until he died. He didn't have ghost, he totally could have finally been free. Yet, some unspoken force pushed him up and drove him forward. Limping and coughing amidst the gunfire and screaming.

He'd been right in front of Dominus. He could've ended the war. And still, Sang had managed to mess up. It was funny how everyone said he could totally replace zavalla in some freak accident, yet right now, Sang felt like he was twenty again, stepping foot in the tower for his very first time and feeling this doubtful uncertainty. The knots in your stomach, when you're sure everything is wrong. Someone made a mistake. A horrible, horrible mistake.

Ghaul's words still rang in Sang's head, outlouding the head splitting migraine Sang was enduring. The rain pelting his face and wounds stung like fire, and the gunshots in the distance were like firework bursts right in his ear. He needed to get out.

Sang tripped and fell face first in the mud, and was ready to give out when he heard it. The familiar voice of Ghost. Sang was drawn to the amber voice, like a moth to light. It was all he could hear clearly. His only safety in this hell.

"Sang!!?" It was a distant shout. Sang would've cried back, screaming at ghost that he was here, just behind the rubble, that he was alive. His words were lost. All that escaped him was that pathetic, choked wail. 

"This is bad.. Just awful.." Ghost sounded weak in the distance, slowly getting closer to his guardian. They'd both taken a bad hit.

Sang spat hair from his mouth, stumbling over again. When he fell in the mud and rubble this time, he didn't get back up. There was a whoosh, as Ghost flew over. This was going to be okay.

"Sang! You're alive.. I thought I'd lost you.." 

Sang was filled with new energy as Ghost returned to him. There were more gunshots, and they seemed to be getting closer. Leave. That was all that was on Sang's mind. Get to an emergency tunnel and book. But he couldn't navigate. Sang was disappointed Ghaul hadn't finished the job.

Sang managed to stand now, as Ghost continued the situation assessment. It wasn't like Sang needed one... It was comforting to have a familiar voice though. It alleviated some of the headache and made the guardian focus. 

"Sang... The light is gone. They've taken the city, the Traveller... Everything. The Red Legion is killing powerless guardians. We have to get out of here." Sparks flew from Ghost's exposed circuits, and his bulb was blown. His voice sounded... Faint. Too faint. He seemed dead already.

Nowhere was safe. Climbing through the rubble was like trying to swim in his own self doubt. Impossible, but somehow still manageable. It was amazing that some signs for certain shops that had fallen down here were still working, projecting animations and beautiful designs. Some were less fortunate. It made Sang feel better off, that he was alive.

He pulled through, blindly stumbling towards a cold draft of air, a much needed escape from the fire of his home. Everything was mud, and sang kept crawling. Blood escaped his lips, and he continued, fighting.

 

The forest was familiar enough, at least, for Sang. He'd spent so much time out in the EDZ. He knew this place like the trigger of his rifle. 

But now it felt like a stranger. The fog was darker and the leaves on the ground rustled menacingly. It was empty and desolate, like the whole planet was soon to be. They were evacuating Earth entirely, and Sang didn't feel as if he deserved to be on those shuttles. It seemed even the animals were gone. Or perhaps it had been the millennia of no contact with any humans this far out, making them scared of Sang. Whatever it really was, his anxiety didn't consider it.

Air. Sang needed it. It felt like his lungs were filling with liquid. In fact that was exactly what was happening. He had A very old disease, one of which had not had a cure in the golden age, and was lost in the fall. All that kept Sang up and running was his coffee and Ghost, and those damned meds Rahool had conjured up from nothing.

The meds made things a little more bearable, but he had no access to them for the past seventy four plus hours he'd been stuck on this hell ride.

Sang couldn't keep up with his own pace much longer, stumbling over his toes and into the soft ground. A sharp inhale was heard from Ghost as he helped Sang, and his cursed body. The guardian sat up, blood dripping from his mouth as he shut his eyes and wheezed. It had to end eventually, right? Death had to be better than this.

"Sang. Let's please take a break. I still can't revive you if you push yourself too far." Worry laced Ghost's words like embroidery. Sang appreciated it, and showed so with his middle finger, which was soon followed by very upset signing. Ghaul would not take a break destroying the city, and sang would be damn upset if he let anything get the better of him.

_'What if I want to die. What if I'm tired.'_

Ghost would've been offended if he had the energy to be. 

"Sang. Don't say that." It was more of a plea than a command. Ghost couldn't do much to keep Sang within rational lines. His guardian was unruly and untameable, and in this symbiotic relationship, they had equal control. Ghost could only beg.

He sighed in relief when Sang nodded, slumping against the nearest tree. Their moment of rest wasn't long, only enough for Sang to breath again. They eventually had to move, or risk getting found and dying.

 

Just at the foot of the mountains, they found an encampment. This wasn't the first time Sang and seen a dead corpse. Nor would this be the last, he was sure. But it was the fact that these had been guardians, previously unstoppable. Dead because he, Sang, hadn't acted fast enough. This guilt weighted heavy in his heart as he took the supplies that had been left. The extra ammo, the guns, some of the food that wasn't spoiled. This could've been him, laying here dead, having his last earthly possessions looted. It was a terrifying thought..

 

The falcon leading them couldn't be a coincidence now. Sang knew to follow it. It certainly seemed to be trying to lead them somewhere. It brought them through the mountains with little harm. Legion encounters were inevitable, since they were taking Earth completely. But the bird...

Sang didn't want to be ridiculous with his hope. That's how he'd died the first time.

 

The bird was certainly leading them somewhere. It was all that drove Sang now, following this bird. Even if this was just being stupid. With every day, Sang regained some of his strength, able to run and jump again.

Follow the bird. Follow the bird.

"SANG! JUMP!"

Ghost's shout was too late for the hypnotized guardian.


	3. He fights

 

**"Aiko... Steady yourself, child. It'll be alright.. Just let go. We love you... You fought so hard."**

**There's a static beep right as there's a loud crash outside. The glass is shattered and the electricity goes out. It's dark, as if something swallowed the sun.**

* * *

Sang is up again, gasping and coughing. The ache in his bones hasn't eased, and there's more blood than ever in his cough, but at least he's alive. He has ghost. And there's a rifle barrel pointed in his face. Okay then. I mean, it came with the job, but couldn't anyone give him five minutes? Damn.

The guardian hacked up more blood, using one hand to steady himself as he turned over, the other pushing the gun away from his face. He was pretty sure he was allergic to the woman holding the gun. She was speaking to him, and Sang couldn't hear her over the ringing in his ears. Ghost probably had this under control.

_what had that vision been. The face he'd seen in the mirror had been his own. That had been him in that sterile room. And that boom.. Had that been the fall? No... No way._

He's so confused and lost but suddenly the poncho gremlin is pulling him up and leading him onto a ship, so Sang doesn't have much time to keep thinking on it. The crazy thought though was.. What if he'd been that Aiko person. The one who died... Sang was used to random flashbacks, but it didn't make sense. He thought it was just his head making illusions. He'd been raised in the city, after all. He'd become a Guardian in record time after his death...

Or had he. What if...

No. Now's not the time to worry. He has to get back to the city.. Has to get his light back.

 

By the time the ship is back on the ground, Sang is back in working condition. His rescuers had rehydrated him and helped Ghost get the man's body back into control. It was a miracle that these people had Sang's meds in stock, rescued from the city, probably.

Feeling already phenomenally better, Sang wandered out of the old wooden barn and into the sunlight. Refugees wandered to and fro, volunteers shouting to each other as more flooded in.

"Hey! Guardian! There you are. Got your brains back?"

It was poncho gremlin again.. Oh no. Sang gave her an incredulous look, as if she expected him to actually answer her. Ghost could already sense the Guardian's spring loading, and jumped in before it could get any more wound.

"Thank you, for helping us, Hawthorne. Who knows if I could have held him for much longer.. This is Sang. Sang, Hawthorne. She's lived outside of the city for a while, and she's helping refugees. She also knows where the traveller's shard is." Ghost chirpped. It seemed they had replaced his bulb. It had been a golden hue before, and now it was blue. A slight aesthetic change Sang noticed, but could live with.

He turned to face the direction the night was settling from, and discovered the shard. Because Hawthorne is apparently the only one who can see the giant lightning rod off in the distance. The one with all the storm clouds floating above it. Hawthorne noticed Sang's gray eyes shift their focus, and the landmark that had earned their gaze.

"You've got a death wish, wanting to head there. We'll only be able to fly you in if you really insist on going to that thing. Maybe take a rest though, big guy-" Hawthorne was quick to stop Sang the second he made a move to step back to the ship. "You've been through a lot, and there's only so much our doctors can do to help your ghost keep you alive. This is what it feels like, being mortal. Should get used to it if you want to live."

With that, the woman gave Sang a glare before stalking off to help new refugees. Something about her fluctuating emotions and quick prejudice made Sang dislike her.

That evening was much like one in the city, in its own respects. People stayed up, the lively yells continued, as more work was done. It was headache inducing, even for Sang, who was usually used to this. His mind was riddled with questions still though, and they were impossible to answer during this ruckus. He found himself perched on the roof of the old water ladder. It had a soft hum, the old wood had been working away for years decades, centuries even, and was still steadily creaking in the creek. The forest around them brought a breeze, and being so high up meant the shouts below were mere echoes.

Who was he, really. Was he really Sang? Who was Aiko.. These were the most recurring questions for Sang. Other questions were things like, what would happen now, what was happening to the Exo from what felt like a lifetime ago, what if he died before they reached the shard.

Those memories felt like they were lifetimes away, a fantastical dream. Where was Zavalla.. Or Ikora. Or anyone. Or his family. And... Were they really his family?

"Sang.. Your temperature is dropping. We should probably get inside before you get too cold." Ghost is quiet, understanding. He knows Sang. The mystery that was what he had always thought was his old life.

"Ghost... If you knew the truth.. You would tell me." Sang completely ignores Ghost's concern. His voice is colder than his flesh, cracking puffs of steam into the air. It's a pain to talk, but they're alone here on the roof, watching the moon battle the clouds. His hands are too busy poking at each other, ripping up his nails beds. And old habit he'd inherited from Ikora, in fact.

"Sang... Don't strain yourself. I can only remember what you do. If I did know anything, I'd tell you, no matter what Zavalla says about poking around your past.

The rest of the night is filled with silence, as the camo finally settles a bit. Sang returned to the ground and accepted a blanket and loft from Hawthorne, setting up where instructed.

He didn't sleep at all.. He just laid there. For the first time he could remember.. Sang felt lost. Truely lost.

The sooner he had his light back, the sooner he'd have his answers.


End file.
